Peace at Last after a Stressful Day
@bagarad (14283)
Paso Robles, California
March 14, 2018 11:08pm CST
Yesterday I was too tired to finish scheduling bill payments online for our credit cards at Chase. I'd had some problems with their interface and wanted to wait until today to face it again. I have always used this site with Chrome, but after I logged in and started to schedule the payment, this one-inch tall white bar appeared at the bottom of my screen blocking part of the scheduling calendar and the button that usually appears at the bottom of the screen that lets you click to put the payment through -- something like "Pay Bill." So I called Chase tech support. I was wondering if all the Windows updates last night might hav caused my problem.
The first tech person I talked to made me clear my cache and history in Chrome and restart, meaning I had to shut down everything else I was working on. It took forever for it to restart. Finally logged in again, and the problem wasn't solved. Since it's my husband's account and he can't put me on it officially until we get another copy of his mom's death certificate to show the bank so he can take her off the account and put me on (it was her account) he had to authorize my conversation with tech support. The man talked too fast and Hubby could barely understand him. Finally I was officially authorized to talk about his account, even though my husband has never used the online interface himself. He doesn't do computers.
The first support person couldn't solve the problem after two reboots and passed me to the tech person. (Can't figure out why he didn't do that in the first place.) Meanwhile I was afraid my phone battery would die, so I gave the extension to my husband and ran to get another one that was freshly charged.
When we were connected to the tech person finally, we had to go through my husband authorizing me to use his account online again. The that person told me to use Internet Explorer, an interface I hate. When I opened that, one of those fake messages that my computer had been compromised hijacked my screen. If you've never gotten that message, it covers your page with red and tells you not to close the window or shut down your computer or you will damage your computer and you have to call an 800 number to talk to a Windows tech person. I knew it was a fake scam because I had had this happen about a year ago and figured out how to deal with it then. So I shut the window and hoped.
I forgot to mention that after I had cleared my history for the first support person, my account no longer recognized my computer when I tried to log in because my cookies were gone. So we had to get a verification code. I was using my phone to talk to the tech, and the number they have on record for my husband to call is at the other house. So I had her email the verification code to me. It took it several minutes to arrive so we chatted about the weather until it did.
Once the verification code arrived, I pasted it in and I was able to schedule my payment. My husband went off to his doctor appointment, and I went to watch the news. I needed some downtime. I had been on the phone with Chase people for at least one frustrating hour.
I watched my program and then started reading the local paper they give me free. The phone rang. It was someone I was trying to reach two weeks ago, but he said it was a landline they only check every couple of weeks. As we talked, I discerned someone might be trying to get through, so we hung up. It was Hubby. He'd stopped at the other house on the way home from the doctor and somehow locked his keys in the car. He couldn't get into the car or the house. So I took him his keys. I was quick to grab my camera when I left because I didn't want to miss what I know would be a lovely sunset. I managed to forget my purse.
I decided to park at the bottom of the driveway by the road because the driveway makes me very nervous in its present condition. I needed exercise anyway. I grabbed the keys to Hubby's car and my camera and unlocked his keys so he could get into the house.
Then I walked the property, checking and photographing the trees, the herbs, and anything else that looked interesting. I got a few sky photos, but it was still a bit too early for sunset. I told Hubby I'd walk back down the hill, but not to leave until he knew I was safely down. I was also planning to wait at the bottom to make sure he got safely down.
I continued to take photos on the way down, and pretty soon he passed me. I was almost at the bottom but wanted two more photos down there, so when I got down, I waved him on so he could go home. I wanted to go to Doce Robles Vineyard on the way home to photograph the sunset. But the sun still wasn't quite ready to set so I took the country road to the end to see what else I could photograph that's not on my usual route.
Finally I saw color appearing in the sky and I went back to the vineyard. That's where I took the photo attached. It's not the sunset. I turned toward the east to take this photo because I liked the almost bubble effect of the clouds. After I finished taking all my photos, I went home.
The time on the computer was very stressful. Nothing relieves my stress like time with nature. A photo walk usually does the trick.
What do you do to relieve stress?
5 people like this
5 responses

@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
15 Mar 18
great photo - photo taking walks ease my stress for me too and it sounds like you went through a lot of down-bringing moments there - hope things improve now
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
17 Mar 18
@arthurchappell Thank you. So far today, I'm good.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
17 Mar 18
@bagarad hope things settle down for you soon, take care
1 person likes this








